There must be something in the water

[maskormods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Lake Tahoe, the Nevada side
WHEN: May 17 all day
WHAT: Swear-In
WARNINGS: Some violence

Welcome imPorts new and old to the lovely city of Jeopardy! For the five minutes the swear-in is here, anyway. See, there’s been some unusual activity at the (relatively) nearby Lake Tahoe. The Better Believe It Museum of Cryptozology has appealed to the government for help, and the powers that be generously volunteered this Swear-In as a chance for imPorts to be voluntold to help. Of course, you can always skip the swear-in or just decide to kick up your feet at a nice lakeside property in May, but the local natives would really appreciate the assistance. So much so that they’ve rented out a legion of party buses to transport you from Jeopardy to the museum in style. Yes, there’s a bar and snacks (though only juice for the kids). It’s about a three hour drive, try not to get too sloshed on the way over.

Just what is the issue? It seems that Nevada’s most famous cryptid, Tahoe Tessie has...well. Been seen. And, yes, of course, there is that whole museum you are going to at the edge of the lake dedicated to fuzzy, shaky-cam ‘sightings’ of Tessie and other cryptozoological marvels over the years, but this is different. Like, ‘oh no, we actually found her’ different. And by all appearances, Tessie’s pretty pissed at being found. Any boats that attempt to go out into the lake are sunk, divers have vanished to never be seen again (whole, anyway. A few parts have washed up), and police have noted a sharp increase in random, violent attacks around the lake shores.

That’s where you come in.

The museum has requested Tessie be captured and transferred into their crypto-aquarium where she can be studied (and rubbed in the faces of all those ‘real’ scientists that called them crazy over the years). There are other options, though. The police are just fine with you killing the creatures; let the scientists dissect the corpse. And a very well funded individual party is more than willing to pay an exorbitant amount to the imPorts that hand her over to them.

While you ponder about the ethics and money involved, here’s the lay of the land.



First there is the cryptid museum itself. Not the tidiest of places, the museum is three floors of winding narrow aisles between shelves heaped with curiosities and walls covered in fuzzy photographs with plaques explaining what cryptozoological marvel is depicted in them, or poster sized print outs of ‘testimonials’ of alien abductions, bigfoot sightings, etc, along with artists interpretations of events described. There is also, of course, quite an expansive gift shop. Get your BELIEVER t-shirt before supplies run out. Please no powers in the museum, the owner is quite forceful about how everything in there is one of a kind.



For those of you not into monster hunting, or hunters that need to recharge, the cryptid museum is right next to a resort that has thoughtfully opened its doors to imPorts. It’s lingering around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit at the lake, not exactly swimming weather, but there’s charming outdoor seating, fire pits to gather around, and free drinks and finger foods abound for every one to mingle with. There’s plenty of nice walking paths around the lake, some low-key events like horse shoe tossing or croquet to pass the time with. Just a nice break by the lake to recharge after a rough month.



Then there’s the lake itself. The locals have provided you with canoes, small fishing boats with radar, diving suits and snorkels, fishing nets, pretty much anything they could think of that will help you catch dear old Tessie (if you have a specific request for an unusual item, ask here if it will be provided!). A certain eccentric (the one offering cash money for Tessie to be turned over to them) even provided a one person submarine for use- though it doesn’t have any arms to grab with or much in the way of catching power, the gesture was still nice?

But catching a cryptid isn’t that easy. See, turns out that surge in violent attacks isn’t just dear old Tessie. If you just pressed A and skipped to the lake itself, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. Those that took time to view the museum first, or chatted with the hotel staff about local legends, will have some warning of what is waiting for them. They’ll learn that in addition to cryptids lake Tahoe has a very real monstrous history- it’s a known mob mass graveyard. Through the 1900s, possibly up to today, the lake served as a very convenient spot for mobsters to send people to ‘sleep with the fishes.’ No one knows how many bodies have ended up under those placid waters, but it’s an unpleasant number. Just an interesting historical tidbit until you actually enter the lake. There you’ll see these dead are, somehow, awake. And not that happy about it.



The lake is crawling with revenants. These angry undead will fight tooth and nail anyone that comes into the waters of the lake, trying to pull you down to meet the same watery fate as them. We’re literal on the tooth part, their bites are strong enough to rip out chunks of flesh. They will follow anyone that disturbs them out of the lake, focused on destroying the life they no longer have. These creatures will need to be destroyed or laid to rest for the lake to be safe again. This can be done through sheer physical assault, break enough of the bones or destroy the skull and the creatures will collapse into the muk. Or they can be put to rest one by one with rituals specifically made for putting the dead to rest (from any religion or philosophy). Those that can talk with the dead and have the dedication can talk the spirits into releasing their mortal coil and returning to the void. Just remember their first emotion is rage at the living, and their first instinct will always be to attack. Those going for a more peaceful route may need back-up to keep the creatures at bay until they start seeing results.

Finally, there’s Tessie.



While legends have reported, and the cryptid museum lead you to expect, a more serpentine creature, characters are once more in for a surprise. Those that finally get past the undead to Tessie herself will discover she is none other than a legendary lusca: half shark, half squid, all attitude. For those still trying to apply biology to this, Tessie’s front half looks like a bull shark, a species infamous for its ability to swim in both salt and fresh waters. There is a little good news: unlike the revenants, Tessie isn’t looking so hot. Some of her tentacles are rotting off and teeth are falling out. She is mostly working to avoid anyone that wants to bother her, darting to deeper waters and running away from close encounters. Anyone that does get too close will face a fight, but it’s that of an animal in its death throes. While an unlimited number of characters can see Tessie, the final decision of what happens to her will be decided by a poll.

After a long day at the lake, imPorts are bused back to Jeopardy in the same party buses. Hopefully still more or less in one piece.

OOC PLOTTING AND QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED HERE!

Comments

Utena Tenjou | OTA | Unsettled

[andtherevolution]

01. Party Bus

Hey, this isn't half-bad. Sure, it's not much of a party with just juice and snacks, but it's not bad. And if they're going to go off to capture some lake monster, they might as well go in style, right? Right.

So Utena pops a salted peanut in her mouth and leans into seat, juice in one hand, and turns to whoever's sitting next to her. It's a long ride, so hey! Why not make some conversation?

"So," she says, "What do you think we can expect from all of this? Tessie, I mean. It sounds pretty out there, but... well, pretty out there is kind of what life is like around here, isn't it?"

02. Museum

Well, if anyone is going to know about Tessie, it'll probably be these guys. Possibly. Maybe. As soon as Utena steps through the door, though, she's filled with equal parts skepticism and regret. But hey, maybe she's being too hard on them. Tessie sounded fake, but she turned out to be real, right? Maybe she should keep an open mind. With a shrug, she walks down the narrow aisle, only for the dust to get the better of her. Her eyes water, her nose wrinkles, and it's not long before a light cough turns into a full blown fit. She feels her shoulder brush up against something and she rushes to cover her mouth, and...

Wait, was that a crash? Was that her? No, it couldn't have been her. Nobody can prove it was her As she turns around to survey the damage (and her potential role in whatever broken knick knacks there may be), she starts to think that maybe it would be a better idea to go investigate the lake.

03. Revenants

The lake was a terrible idea

Utena stands knee deep in the water, clutching a canoe oar for dear life as she stares down a shambling corpse. Anthy's not here to draw her sword, but unless there's someone out there willing and able to take her role, she's just going to have to improvise. She breathes in deep, focusing her power into the oar, and as soon as the revenant lurches forward instinct takes over. With a loud yell, she swings her makeshift weapon towards the creature's skull, breaking its neck with a sickening crunch and twisting its head around. However, it wasn't quite enough to kill it for good, and more are rising from the lake...

04. Resort

After a long afternoon spent slaughtering the undead, Utena sits near the fire, drenched from head to toe. Somehow she manages to be both freezing cold and sunburnt, and she winces as the towel wrapped around her brushes against a particularly sensitive patch of skin. She sighs into her mug of complimentary cocoa, using it warm her hands instead of drinking it.

"Please tell me we got all of them," she says, to nobody in particular. "I don't want to have to go back there a second time."

3

[finnality]

A teenage boy was wading through the water with a sword in hand, ready to help fight off more of those monsters. He gives an impressed whistle, with just a bit of a wince, at the way that the girl took down one revenant.

"Good job!" As he approaches the person in question and sees more revenants rising around them, he grips his sword in preparation. "But you could probably use some back-up!"

[andtherevolution]

Just as she begins to thinks that she might be in over her head, she hears a whistle followed by words of encouragement. Utena looks over her shoulder to see a guy just around her age (maybe older? maybe younger? the hat makes it hard to tell) with a sword, and nods quickly as she we positions her oar.

"Hey, the more the merrier! Come on, let's do this!"

The revenant lunges forward again, or as forward as somebody can get when their head is twisted around. Utena dodges easily enough, and gives the head another solid WHACK, sending it stumbling back down into the lake.

[finnality]

He does happen to be 17, for what it's worth. He's glad to have someone to team up with and gives a firm nod before springing into action.

"Hoo yeah! Glad to join the battle party, it's just my jam!" Considering that these are undead monsters that can't be reasoned with, Finn doesn't have anything holding him back in a battle. As Utena's foe falls back into the water, Finn springs forward and drives his sword into the creature, most likely finishing it off. He then pulls the sword back up and dashes forward to try to cut through some of the incoming revenants. But there's a lot to keep track of!

[andtherevolution]

There sure are! Finn has their attention at the moment, but Utena's not about to let him do all the heavy lifting. When one of them tries to come at him from the side, Utena charges forward, blocking him off with her oar.

"Not-" she grunts, "-so fast!"

It lunges at her face, but she blocks in time, and instead it bites into the handle of the oar-turned-staff-turned-generic-blunt-instrument. She grits her teeth as she struggles to regain control of her weapon, but the wood cracks in her hands, breaking it in half. There's a split second where they both stumble back, the outcome of the fight now dependent on which one can regain their footing first.

Fortunately, it's Utena. When the revenant jerks foward, instinct and reflex take over, and she charges towards it with a loud yell, aiming the pointed bit of her broken half-oar at the revenant's head, piercing it right through the skull and... oh. Oh that's gross. That is so gross. She yanks it out, fighting the urge to hurl as the revenant slips down into the water, dead (re-dead?) for good.

[finnality]

Finn manages to catch snippets of her fight while fending off some of the other revenants - including managing to catch that she stopped the enemy from catching him off guard. He takes a moment to spare her a thumbs up.

"Thanks!"

With that, he focuses on the enemies ahead of him, managing to cut a good few down for good. But one of them isn't completely out - and reaches up to clasp his ankle! Finn gives out a shrill scream!

3

[fauxmarth]

"Duck down!"

Swooping in overhead like some kind of bird of prey, Lucina swings in, separating the creature's head from its shoulders as she blows past on her way into the small pack of others rising up.

She fights viciously, the restraint she reserves for fighting humans and creatures gone: these things may as well be the Risen from home, and she won't stand them to stand a second longer.

There's also the new super-strength bit: grabbing one of the revenants by its arm, she hurls it clear across the lake without even a second glance, the only indication of it left by the spatter of water in the distance.

[andtherevolution]

Utena ducks as directed, but when she looks up she freezes, just gaping at Lucina. She doesn't think she's ever seen her like this befor-oh, okay, she just launched that zombie halfway down the lake. Now that, that is definitely new.

It doesn't take long to regain her wits, though, and as she squares up in preparation for the next wave of the undead, she yells, "Since when could you do that?!"

Not that she's ungrateful, mind, but you can't blame her for being a little surprised

[fauxmarth]

In less dire times, Lucina would take a moment to remark how happy she is to see Utena's back -- and she is! Truly! Wholeheartedly!

But the undead are making a move, and she can't have it. No more of this!

Lunging forward, she grabs at the neck of a revenant behind the one right in front of her, holding the both of them in place so she can skewer the lot. She then hefts them up, letting gravity to some slicing on its own before pounding them into the water with a few ferocious stabs.

Once Falchion is free again, she huffs, satisfied with seeing some gnarly limbs float off without a body. Only then does she turn back to Utena, her expression still fierce and grim.

"Let's get you out of here," she says, sloshing over. "An oar won't do much good for long."

[andtherevolution]

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I can't just let you take these guys on by yourself! I know I can't do much with this, but-"

But there's something else. Something she's never dared to try here, not until Anthy arrived. It's a long shot, but...

"-but I have something else."

She looks her straight in the eye, and says, "Lucina? Do you trust me?"

[fauxmarth]

Lucina bristles a little at the no, even with her head on a swivel looking for more trouble. She can already see other things lurching out of the water not far away...She nearly drops attention for Utena in favor of it, but a peripheral glance catches her being looked at directly, which bids her do likewise. Her expression clouds with a bit of impatience and confusion.

"What? I--yes, I do, but we have little time to idle. We must move--"

03

[monster_san]

Fighting a bunch of undead lake mobsters was not exactly the thing Fuu had expected out of the swear-in, but it is in the broad general area of that. In fact, the main reason she had elected to come here was to help with the inevitable disaster.

She's doing her best to knock them back into the lake; mostly in a bid to give people ashore time to get away from them and back to the resort. When she spots Utena in the water, belting at them with an oar, she acts quickly.

"EMERALD TYPHOON!"

Blades of green wind rush across the water, avoiding Utena but striking at the revenants indiscriminately and knocking them over. It's not a long-term fix; the water hampers the potency of the spell and there are too many to be caught by one blast in any case, but it clears the area for a few moments. "Utena-san! Are you all right?!"

[andtherevolution]

She feels the magical wind blow past her, as green and vibrant as fresh blades of grass, and when she looks up most of the zombies are gone... and Fuu is standing behind her.

Ah. So that's her power.

There's no time to gawk, though! She nods, and says, "I'm fine! What about everyone else? Nobody's still out there on the beach, right?"

Well, nobody but imPorts, she means.

[monster_san]

No time to breathe a sigh of relief that Utena is unhurt; instead Fuu quickly scans the shore for signs of endangered civilians. She hopes to find none, but she isn't at all surprised that there are still people who haven't made it to safety--what looks like a brother and sister trying to fend off revenants with all the martial prowess that could be afforded by a beach umbrella.

"Over there!" Fuu yanks out the bow and arrow from her glove jewel, quickly sinking an arrow into one of the threatening revenants as she seeks out a way down. "If we go this way, we can reach them quickly--" No, wait. "Is the oar all you have?"